SHS'S Asuncion and O'Toole Complete Season in Top 40 at CIAC Finals

On Saturday October 26th at Manchester’s famed Wickham Park the Stratford High School Boys Cross Country team took part in the 2024 Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class L Cross Country 5K Championships.
Twenty-five teams gathered for the 11:20 am start with each team sending its seven best to the starting line.
On arrival most of the athletes were reminded of the particulars of the course.
It is described as a course that covers some 280 acres of gardens, open fields, woodlands and trails, in addition to picnic areas. The course also runs along a natural balcony overlooking the hills of the western skyline.
What runners always think about is the two hundred yard hill known as the “Green Monster”. Most runners use spikes to handle the wood chipped, grass covered, and gravel covered hill.
This morning’s race saw an absolute gem of a morning, picture perfect, with sunny skies, temperatures at 46 degrees at the start, and light northwest winds.
To add, the backdrop of trees were now at peak colors.
Race officials estimated the size of the crowd to be at four thousand.
The Stratford seven were positioned in box twenty-two along the starting rail. A very tough spot at the far wing of the line.
For Papa Insaidoo, this would be his final race in a storied four year career.
Leading the charge for Stratford are Sophomores Dyllan Asuncion and Zackary O’Toole. Both have had an impressive season in the highly competitive South West Conference. Asuncion earned a place on the Second Team All Conference with a 14th place finish in the Championship Meet.
They were joined by fellow Sophomores Ryan DeVeaux, Keeson Alonso, Junior Jose Mora, and Freshman Brayden Acevedo.
The Twenty-five teams lined up, a total of 175 runners at the start.
Runners were given their final instructions and with a blast from Start Official Gene Waring the 2024 CIAC Class L race was under way.

All runners are tasked with merging into a narrow choke point in the first two-tenths of a mile. If you fall behind at the choke point you will lose ground in a hurry.
The first sixty to sixty-five runners were able to squeeze by the choke point in a steady manner. Then the log jam slowed the remaining runners up.
Among those to get by were Stratford’s Asuncion and O’Toole. They were in the forty-five to fifty range.
2024 Individual SWC Champion Soheib Dissa, from Newtown, broke out of the gate in an all out sprint giving every indication he was in it to take the CIAC Class L title without a debate or a discussion.
The top ten going into mile one saw a variety of schools.
There was Bethel’s Evan Bureau, Darien’s Andrew Sharron, New Canaan’s Ryan Boulanger, Chesire’s Daniel Irish, Xavier’s Owen Jones and Owen Martin, Amity’s Luke Cushing, Xavier’s Jack Ouellette, and Fitch’s Julian Silva.
Numerous times they swapped positions heading out of mile one as they swooped around several loops before heading up the “Green Monster”.
Dissa continued in the lead and created distance with a sub 5:00 first mile.
Dissa cruised up and over the “Green Monster” located at about the mile and three-quarter mark.
In team scoring Xavier with the early lead sporting three in the top ten.
Stratford’s Asuncion crept his way up within the top 35 running at about a 5:45 pace.
O’Toole gained ground and positioned himself in the top fifty, roughly running in the 5:50 pace.
Both heading towards the “Green Monster” were very strong.
After the hill the top ten started to take shape with distance in between and formed a single file line.
Cushing in second, Martin in third, Bureau in fourth, Ouellette in fifth, Irish in sixth, Boulanger in seventh with Sharron putting pressure on.
In ninth, Jones with Silva closing in.
The CIAC awards the top twelve named to the All- State team which entered Farmington’s Caleb Evans knocking on the door of the top ten now in eleventh.
In twelfth Xavier’s Schmeelk a few seconds behind Evans.
Xavier’s Nolan O’Connor was in thirteenth giving the Falcons five in the first thirteen.
Following the progress of Asuncion and O’Toole both raced their way into the top 40 overall.
As a side note the final results would show only six of the first 40 were Sophomores with the majority Seniors.
Back to the leaders and Dissa sprinting towards the finish line crossing it in a time of 15:43.
Dissa was crowned the 2024 CIAC Class L Individual Champion.

Cushing in second at 15:59, in third Martin at 16:04, in fourth Bureau at 16:10, in fifth Ouellette at 16:20, in sixth Irish at 16:35, in seventh Boulanger at 16:46, in eighth Sharron at 16:49, in ninth Jones at 16:52, in tenth Silva at 16:53.
Evans took eleventh at 16:54, in twelfth Schmeelk at 16:56, and clinching the 2024 CIAC Class L Team Championship for Xavier was O’Connor , in thirteenth overall, at 17:01.
The next twenty eight runners were all in the 17:00 to 18:00 running pace which is under a 6:00 mile.
Among them was Asuncion and O’Toole.
Asuncion now in the top 30.
Bunnell’s Alex Vaquarano, a Senior, in his final high school career cross country race, also raced his way into the top 30.
Both representing the Town of Stratford with pure pride and sportsmanship right down to an end.
Asuncion rode in the 27th spot and held strong finishing in a time of 17:42.
Vaquarano closed in on the 29th spot and stayed there in a time of 17:46.
O’Toole finished in the 39th spot at 17:58.
The remaining Stratford finishers were Ryan DeVeaux at 22:21, Jose Mora at 22:41, Brayden Acevedo at 26:31, Keeson Alonso running a little under the weather at 26:50, and turning in his personal best in his final high school career cross country race was Papa Insaidoo at 27:08.
Insaidoo, a team favorite and a league favorite, was greeted by fellow teammates and SWC competitors in congratulations for his final race as he made his way from the finish line.
Up next for Stratford, season over, going into the 2025 season the Red Devils will return two Freshman, four Sophomores, and a Junior. Each now with at least a season under their belt experiencing the State of Connecticut’s toughest 5K race courses.

The CIAC Class L race results is below

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